Why does the Congress always work against those national functionaries who perform, deliver and are seen to be successful in their jobs? Why does it consistently abuse achievement? Why is there always a shortfall of approval and tacit backing by the High Command? Why does this party nurture negative rivalry? Why does the success of one threaten the other? Most of the failed leaders invariably return to Delhi, abdicate their regional responsibility, having mismanaged and lost their states to their opponents and hang about the corridors of 24 Akbar Road, hoping to be noticed. In their boredom they indulge in petty politicking, back-stabbing their colleagues who are working and confronting the volatile political space.
Disconnected from ground realities, these men and women manipulate the various players and create untenable conditions for any real and substantial change and growth. Young elected members are sidelined, kept isolated from the top leadership, compelled to descend into the depths of professional frustration. Not accountable, never hauled over the coals, they seem to be getting away with this steady corrosion of the party machinery. Once again they are losing a great opportunity that India gave them to regroup, restructure, reform and restore. But alas, they are so utterly predictable, so intellectually dull and lethargic and so deeply selfish.
The BJP is skidding and slipping and sliding and falling all over the place. They cannot make up their collective mind about anything at all. The CPI-M and other Left groupings are stuck in a time warp, exposing a perpetual ?flashback.? Regional parties that rule their states join a coalition at the Centre and spend their time fighting and blackmailing the largest single party, whichever it may be, in an attempt to win brownie points for themselves at home. Strident political rhetoric, rabble rousing, demand for strikes, et al., make this great subcontinent look like some kind of immature polity, where every party is looking to short-term gains, triggered by knee-jerk policies. One billion plus people are being exploited and betrayed at the same time.
Ineptitude across the spectrum is disguised by irrelevant charges that they constantly level against each other with vitriolic fervour. Press conferences are held ever so often, where accusations are hurled in public at individuals without any empirical backup. Reputations are mutilated, till proven otherwise. Scribes lap it all up, much like comfort food that requires no effort to digest. Easy come, easy print. The latest in this series is the loud demand for a probe into what the Mitrokhin diaries allege. And allege is the key word. Why this blind trust in Mitrokhin? What a waste of time and money. This epitomises lazy politics.
Maybe, all business houses should publish a list of the monies they have had to pay politicians and bureaucrats so that they can conduct their business in peace. We need a list that tells us what dole is for which leader and from whom. That would be a far more important expose and become a barometer that would reveal the morality of those who determine our lives. The trouble is that every truth blurs as it is countered by a sensational lie. And India gets distracted and continues to wallow in the rather unpleasant mire that has come to envelop us all, regardless of class, caste or creed. This has become the true leveller.
Standards have been diluted, rules bent, norms and ethics destroyed, all to protect a few. Dr Manmohan Singh comprehends this reality well. He is not part of this sordid game. He is not wheeling and dealing. He is not playing one against the other. He is not tied up with any ?mafia.? He is not on the take. If he initiates a radical cleansing, his insecure tribe will be rattled and will desperately try to isolate him. He should do what he has to and wield the whip, call their bluff, win over the country and set it on the right path.
The purging of this chronic illness from the body politic of India is as crucial as roti, kapda aur makaan. A radical corrective is critical if freedom of thought, expression and action is to be endorsed, protected, kept healthy and alive for India to grow into a mature strong democracy. If this is not addressed, we could well become a new millennium banana republic, gasping for breath in a tumultuous sea of anarchy.